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Working at an unprecedented pace, today’s automotive engineers are exploring new technologies to revolutionize cars for a post-petroleum era. Innovative battery chemistries, advanced biofuels, and hydrogen fuel cells—will likely be future game-changers. Yet, it will take many years to convert the American fleet to these new technologies.

Meanwhile, there’s another track of innovation aimed not at revolutionary future technologies, but at reducing the cost of today’s most efficient cars that still run on gasoline. For example, what if a relatively simple change in the technology powering today’s hybrid cars—there are nearly 2 million gas-electric vehicles already on U.S. roads—could make them much more affordable and therefore nearly ubiquitous? How in the world do you disconnect hybrids’ high mpg from its higher cost?

With a single motor, two clutches and a standard transmission, it turns out. Mostly escaping notice, a new crop of 2011 hybrids—including the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid and the Infiniti M35 Hybrid—are using a second clutch to achieve the critical goal of separating operation of the gas engine and electric motor. Some existing hybrids already have a clutch to disconnect and reconnect the transmission from an engine and electric motor, which are integrated and bolted together. That’s Honda’s approach. Alternatively, using two electric motors and a special transmission, as Toyota and Ford do, achieves the same goal of freeing the electric motor from the engine—but at a higher cost.

However, these new parallel two-clutch systems—hence the name P2—could provide 95 percent of the fuel efficiency benefits of an expensive two-motor system, like the one in the Toyota Prius, but at cost reductions of one-third or more.

The P2 hybrids could match or even beat the cost of Honda’s simpler one-motor system, which has the major drawback of not being able to run the electric motor without simultaneously operating the gas engine. In fact, the P2 hybrids are similar to Honda’s IMA (Integrated Motor Assist) technology, but with the key advantage of a clutch allowing the gas engine to shut down, and the electric motor to do more of the work.

Driving Down Cost

“It’s the next evolution of hybrids,” said John DeCicco, senior lecturer at the University of Michigan School of Natural Resources and Environment. “What you have with this next round of systems is a lower cost solution to providing the efficiency benefit comparable to a two-motor powersplit system. That’s significant for public policy because it makes higher Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) levels less costly to achieve.”

Hyundai says the Sonata Hybrid can travel up to 75 mph purely on electricity. It also means better efficiency on the highway, rather than the city. Other advantages include the ability to recapture more regenerative braking, eliminate engine drag, and to increase the size of, and acceleration from, the electric motor. It also paves the way to plugging into grid energy and storing that energy in larger batteries—but that would defeat its most compelling advantage: reducing cost.

A September 2010 technical paper—co-published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, and the California Air Resources Board—compared manufacturing costs of various hybrid and electric cars. It showed the price of batteries for P2 hybrids at a quarter the cost of a Volt-like plug-in hybrid and about a tenth the cost of 100-mile electric vehicle, projected all the way out to 2025.

Additional cost advantages also come from being able to use standard off-the-shelf transmissions, and eliminate the use of a torque converter.

Preferred Approach for New Hybrid-Makers

“Look at the manufactures who have not already made a substantial investment in hybrids, who have not locked themselves to the [Honda] IMA or [Toyota/Ford] powersplit design,” said John German, senior fellow for the International Council for Clean Transportation. “Every one of those manufactures is coming out with P2 systems. And it’s not just Hyundai, Infiniti and Volkswagen that have products hitting dealerships this year. Mercedes and BMW are also coming out with P2 systems, just not this year.” To German, this is clear evidence of the cost and efficiency advantages of the one-motor, two-clutch approach.

German believes it will take five to seven years before these new hybrid-makers catch up with Toyota’s technology. “Toyota is so much further down the learning curve, they’re operating at such higher volumes,” acknowledged German. Yet, he believes that by 2020, these P2 hybrids will penetrate the mass market. “They will become standard on vehicles.”

That timing is significant, because the California Air Resources Board, NHTSA, and EPA are all working on legislation out to 2025. Widespread adoption of hybrids in the 2025 timeframe—assisted by a smaller number of electric and fuel cell cars—would make a fleet average of 60 mpg highly achievable at cost. At that point, German believes P2 hybrid systems could mean cost-competitive 40-mpg SUVs.

“Engineering advances are lowering the cost of higher fuel economy levels,” DeCicco said. “Automakers might say that they’ve already picked all the low-hanging fruit. What we’re seeing now is that the tree of innovation grows new low hanging fruit every year.”

The Mercedes S400 hybrid was the first hybrid from the luxury carmaker. Mercedes, and other luxury brands, will

Yegor

Still Hyundai Sonata is quite expensive at $25,795.

DownUnder

Don’t know how the USA manage to price cars so low.
In AUS, base model Prius was priced AUD39,990 for 2 years before reducing to AUD34,900 last week. And AUD is worth more than USD right now. How much do you pay for a base model in the USA?

When I see someone from the USA complains about “high” petrol price, I just LOL. It’s AUD1.50/litre here now.

DownUnder

Don’t know how the USA manage to price cars so low.
In AUS, base model Prius was priced AUD39,990 for 2 years before reducing to AUD34,900 last week. And AUD is worth more than USD right now. How much do you pay for a base model in the USA?

When I see someone from the USA complains about “high” petrol price, I just LOL. It’s AUD1.50/litre here now.

indian

friends in US are lucky, in india we pay abt $1.5 USD per liter knowing that our salaries are in indian rupees around 10% of wages go in meeting transportation expenses?

Yegor

AUD34,900 (plus 11% tax) – that is US$36,938 (plus tax) Wow!
I took a look Toyota Yaris costs about the same in Australia as in USA – $15,000 (plus 20% tax)

We buy oil from countries that consider the U.S. as “The Great Satan!”, we need to do everything to get off foreign oil. Algae fuels, hybrids, hydrogen, natural gas, solar and maybe windmills. I found an interesting company that makes combustable hydrogen for current gas engines and you can switch back and forth. I wish hybrid.com would write an article about them. http://www.switch2hydrogen.com/

Eric B

Well think of it this way: the 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid, with it’s single-motor approach, runs around $26,000 nicely equipped. Keep in mind that that car is a compact car. Sure, there’s a nice amount of room in there. BUT, for the same money (around $25,000) you can have a mid-size hybrid sedan. Not bad, in my opinion.

I’m really intrigued by 40 MPG SUVs. A fully-equipped Ford Escape Hybrid tops $40,000, and that’s WAY more than I’d spend on a compact SUV, hybrid or not.

Eric B

@Yegor

Well think of it this way: the 2012 Honda Civic Hybrid, with it’s single-motor approach, runs around $26,000 nicely equipped. Keep in mind that that car is a compact car. Sure, there’s a nice amount of room in there. BUT, for the same money (around $25,000) you can have a mid-size hybrid sedan. Not bad, in my opinion.

I’m really intrigued by 40 MPG SUVs. A fully-equipped Ford Escape Hybrid tops $40,000, and that’s WAY more than I’d spend on a compact SUV, hybrid or not.

Anonymous

Eric B:
Not sure which market you’re in, but in the U.S. the 2012 Civic hybrid starts from about 24k, the top model comes with leather trim and NAVI tops at 26.75k.

For the record, I think a Prius with leather trim is about 26.85k without NAVI.

Willard West

But then the P2 system still needs a CVT or multi-cog transmission, whereas the HSD system is an all-in-one solution. The HSD also allows the electrics to run much more efficiently, all the way up to >15,000 RPM.

michel

I have always known those Americans are smart. Hybrid technology is the best technology developing in automotive world and doing great. I agree with Smurf yes the GM is leading this technology. Hybrid cars are the future cars, In future every automobile company will focus on these cars.

Hybrid technology is good but electric cars are the future. Too bad companies refuse to develop this quick. Yes, I think they can do it, but there is no financial interest to do it – Cazare Brasov

Alexandra

Hybrid technology is good but electric cars are the future. Too bad companies refuse to develop this quick. Yes, I think they can do it, but there is no financial interest to do it – Cazare Brasov

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